WASHINGTON, D.C. – Just in time for the busy holiday travel season, the Washington, D.C. Metroplex is the first in the nation to have three, state-of-the-art, satellite-based highways in the sky running side by side by side, each dedicated to one of the three major airports in the region.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The FAA and the aviation community sent a plan to Congress last week to show how the FAA will accelerate the benefits of key NextGen initiatives over the next three years.

The agreement is the result of several months of collaboration between the agency and the NextGen Advisory Committee, which includes officials from the airlines, airports, general aviation, pilots, labor unions and safety specialists, manufacturers, international aviation, environmentalists and the Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It has been one year since FAA Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker took over as Chief NextGen Officer. In his first report to Congress early in June, he noted that “significant progress” has been made.

That optimism is not totally shared by others, however, most of whom have questions about equipment requirements and costs; potential effects on traffic in congested airspace; equipment and possible regulations in non-congested airspace; and other secondary effects of a new system.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FAA needs to take speedier action, as well as assure pilots and aircraft owners that expenditures for equipment will not significantly change for general aviation to move ahead to prepare for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), members of Congress were told in a hearing held Wednesday by the House Committee on Small Business.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FAA is making progress in the next generation air traffic control (NextGen) program, Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a report to the Congress. Whitaker was appointed Chief NextGen Officer a year ago.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The FAA today announced the completion of a nationwide infrastructure upgrade that will enable air traffic controllers to track aircraft with greater accuracy and reliability, while giving pilots more information in the cockpit. This upgrade is a key improvement in the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s International Center for Air Transportation is studying the impact of ADS-B traffic and weather services — and they want your input.

According to the MIT researchers, the goal of the study is to determine how general aviation pilots value and use these services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House Subcommittee on Aviation, chaired by U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), will hold a roundtable policy discussion on Thursday, Feb. 27, on the FAA’s efforts to address the NextGen Advisory Committee’s (NAC) recommendations for developing the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pilots and aircraft owners at all levels of aviation are reluctant to invest in the necessary new equipment for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). One reason is that the FAA has not clearly defined what benefits will be achieved and when.

WACO, Texas — FreeFlight Systems is supplying its avionics systems in partnership with NextGen Equipage Fund’s financing program to enable ADS-B and other mandated avionics retrofits for as many as 200,000 general aviation aircraft.